


Light A Light On (For You To Remember Me By)

by BowAndDagger



Series: Light A Light On [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: (Shinji says so), (cuddles are important), (with cuddles), AU of an AU, Aizen Sosuke Being a Bastard, Aizen stole his lieutenancy, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Aternate Universe - Fix-It, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Kurosaki Ichigo is his reincarnation, Open Ending, POV Kurosaki Ichigo, POV Shiba Ichigo, Rated for a few swear words, Shiba Ichigo was Shiba Kaien's twin, Turn Back The Pendulum Arc - Canon Divergence, and very confused
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 14:52:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14215557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BowAndDagger/pseuds/BowAndDagger
Summary: Upon meeting him, Ichigo can only think there is something utterly familiar about Hirako Shinji.But Ichigo knowswhoHirako Shinjiisand his appearance in his classroom feels like a missing part of his life finally clicking into place. He has the distinct impression of having spent his life up until that point looking for Shinji.(Maybe that’s why he feels disappointment and betrayal when Shinji attacks him from nowhere later that day.Shinji attacks him frombehind.That alone makes him feel ill.)





	Light A Light On (For You To Remember Me By)

**Author's Note:**

> So the idea wouldn’t leave me alone.  
> I went to bed after finishing _Light A Light On (For My Soul To Follow)_ and this plotbunny hit me from nowhere. I don’t have time for this!!!! I have exams!
> 
> An AU of an AU: what if Ichigo was the only one who started remembering/recognising?

 

 

Upon meeting him, Ichigo can only think there is something utterly familiar about Hirako Shinji.

 

That’s not the first time it happens. Rukia was familiar, too.

 

(But not in the same way ~~Hirako~~ Shinji is.)

 

As soon as she appeared, Ichigo inexplicably deemed her an ally, even more so when she mentioned being part of the Thirteenth Division.

 

(The words ‘Thirteenth Division’ brings to mind comfort, loyalty and a strong, familiar and loved presence full of fondness.)

 

Her uniform, her stance and the blade at her side were familiar but not her _person_.

But Ichigo knows _who_ Hirako Shinji _is_ and his appearance in his classroom feels like a missing part of his life finally clicking into place. He has the distinct impression of having spent his life up until that point looking for Shinji.

 

(He’s been looking for someone else, too. But he doesn’t remember. Not yet.)

 

(Maybe that’s why he feels disappointment and betrayal when Shinji attacks him from nowhere later that day.

Shinji attacks him from _behind_.

That alone makes him feel ill.)

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

(Ichigo is already using Shinji’s name, with no honorific.

It’s not unusual: he has an aversion of using more formal appellations.

But he barely spoke to the transfer-student-who-is-a-Visored-in-disguise.

 _That_ is not normal.)

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

When he first met Rukia, when she first explained what Plus and Hollows and Shinigami and Soul Society were, there was a voice at the back of his head who perked up.

Who woke up.

 

 

When he met for the first time his Zanpakuto, Ichigo assumed that it was the old man who woke up.

He wasn’t wrong.

But he wasn’t right either.

Zangetsu wasn’t the only one to awaken.

                

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

Soul Society, Rukongai and Seireitei are even more familiar.

 

Ichigo doesn’t want to think about why seeing Kukaku and Ganju almost makes him break down crying.

He doesn’t want to know why learning that Shiba Kaien died practically destroys him.

 

( _KaienKaienKaienKaien_ )

 

(He only registers that Kaien is dead.

His world abruptly changes its axis and begins to spin into an endless void.)

 

(For a short moment, until he learns the circumstances surrounding Kaien’s death, he hates ( _hateshateshateshates_ ) Rukia.)

 

He doesn’t want to know what’s going on.

Because his curiosity and his compassion towards ghosts got him into this mess with the Shinigami and the Spiritual World.

And yet… Yet he can feel this is important; a part of his life.

 

(It’s a puzzle and he’s missing several key pieces.)

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

On the contrary to everything that appears to be familiar around him, Zangetsu ( _a part of his soul!_ ) feels utterly _un_ familiar.

Strange, distant, still _his_ but skewed, blurred.

Incomplete.

It hurts so much when he thinks about it that he once almost blackouts.

It hurts like a missing limb.

 

(A Shinigami’s Zanpakuto can’t be whole if their Shinigami isn’t whole themselves.)

 

It’s almost as disturbing at the familiarity he can’t help feeling when surrounded by Shinigami.

 

Urahara is so familiar that Ichigo already knows how to spar against him, how to put him down in the least amount of moves possible. He can’t because he over-reaches; as if used to a bigger, quicker body.

 

Seeing Ukitake brings him nothing but a strange mix of respect, almost fondness and inexplicable rage.

( _Punchhim_. _Kaienisdead.Hepromisedhewouldprotecthimandhefailed.Punchhim._ )

 

Kyoraku feels like a mentor. Which is strange since it’s _Urahara_ who taught him, albeit briefly, how to gain back his power and how to fight.

 

Yoruichi feels like a more demanding (teasing) sister. Ichigo isn’t touching that particular feeling with a ten-foot pole. (He saw her naked!!!! This is so embarrassing!)

 

Byakuya puzzles him and enrages him in turn. He’s a puzzle because Ichigo has the impression he should be more of a firebrand and he’s making him furious because he almost _let his sister get executed_. (He’s seriously tempted to punch him in the face for that.)

 

(The Visored, too, are familiar.

He knows before even talking to her that the manga Lisa is reading is perverted. He knows Kensei’s speciality is hand-to-hand combat, that Rose is a music aficionado, that Hiyori likes to bark but she cares deeply, …)

 

He knows them all.

 

But he hasn’t met them before in his ( ~~this~~ ) life.

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

He doesn’t understand what’s going on. He’s…well… not scared but wary. So he tries to forget that anything weird is going on.

He’s never been one for denial.

But he’s fifteen, already dealing with battles for his life and a war he should not be a part of, so he gives it a try.

He deniesdeniesdeniesdenies.

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

Denial goes out the window the moment he ( ~~re~~ )meets Shinji.

 

He’s been hearing a voice at the back of his head since his bare-brained scheme to regain his Shinigami power after he lost Rukia’s.

 

Shinji, the rest of the Visored and even Hat-and-Clogs tell him it’s his Hollow.

 

He has the feeling they’re not wrong.

But they’re not right either.

 

The night he makes proper contact with his ‘Hollow’ for the first time, he dreams.

He _remembers_.

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

Kurosaki wasn’t always his family name. Shiba was. Once, a long time ago. In another life.

 

He also dreams of three siblings. They aren’t Yuzu and Karin, but they are equally cherished.

In this life, he’s an older sibling, but not the oldest, and he remembers with fondness and slight exasperation being doted on by his older twin. _His twin!_

 

( _KaienKaienKaien.Whereareyou?Imissyou!Comeback!_ )

 

Ichigo wakes up with tears running down his cheeks.

 

(He feels like he’s dying from the inside.)

 

(The voice grows louder.)

 

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

Ichigo wants to talk to someone, anyone, about his dreams ( ~~memories~~ ).

But no one even mentioned in passing Shiba Ichigo.

Kukaku and Ganju never said they had another sibling other than Kaien.

He’s not sure of who to ask.

 

(Shinji, his mind tells him. He ignores it. He doesn’t know the blond enough to go ask him some advice on _dreams_ of all things.)

 

(He does, though. He knows Shinji like the back of his hand. Better than that even. But Shinji doesn’t. His lack of reaction is as much of a blow as learning about Kaien’s death.)

 

Besides, since no one mentioned Shiba Ichigo, maybe he’s remembering a past life in an alternate universe or something.

And, maybe, this universe – the one he’s living in right now – never had the Shiba Twins…

 

So he stays silent on the matter and continues to dream.

 

(It’s a good thing he doesn’t mention anything.

Aizen’s manipulations run deep and any mention of Shiba Ichigo would have lead first to denial of anyone bearing such name and then…

The traitor hadn’t wanted any chance of the murder he committed, and the resulting alterations, to be discovered and linked to him.

To avoid this, he placed a failsafe in his illusions and the minds of his victims: if the words “Shiba Ichigo” were uttered several times during a short period in the vicinity of one of those influenced by Aizen’s spell and something akin to a seizure would occur. Repeated occurrences would lead to brain death.

By wanting to know, he’d have condemned one of his friends.)

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

A Zanpakuto represents the psyche of a Shinigami.

They reflect the soul of their wielder.

 

Ichigo’s Zanpakuto is double because he lived two lives.

 

The Old Man represents both his new life and his Quincy heritage (not that Ichigo knows this). That’s why he was the first one to make contact.

He’s the present influenced by the past.

 

Shiro is both a reflection of his past life and of his Hollowfication (also heavily influenced by Masaki’s own half-hollowfied state).

That’s why he looks so much like Ichigo; not because he’s a bleached reflection of the teen (the sharpness of the jaw and the eyes are just this side of wrong and the shape of the nose is not right) but because he’s the representation of Shiba Ichigo.

He’s the past that influences the present.

 

Together they are Tensa Zangetsu.

But even then they are incomplete.

 

The last, final, part is Mugetsu.

Because Mugetsu was, _is_ , Shiba-Kurosaki Ichigo’s Zanpakuto. It always was.

 

When Ichigo achieves that state, he does not ascend to a seemingly god-like state.

_He achieves his true bankai. The one he’d have reached in his past life, had he had a bit more time to train._

He opens his senses and his soul to the universe around him.

And for the first time since he became aware of his reincarnated life, he remembers.

 _Everything_.

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

The good and the bad.

 

The sad and the happy.

 

His family.

Kaien; his twin, his shadow, his beloved older brother who was always there when he turned around.

Kukaku; his little sister, the only girl of the family, who didn’t take no shit from anyone and with a temper as explosive as her fireworks.

Ganju; his little brother who loved Kido and took to changing things into sand with gusto.

 

His friends.

Kisuke and his genius mind and his awkwardness. His favourite sparring partner; because Kisuke never hesitated to fight dirty and fighting against him was exhilarating.

Yoruichi and her speed and her tenacity (and that silly/adorable little crush she had on him and Kaien when she was a toddler). His sister in everything-but-blood and fellow prankster.

Hiyori and her trusted sandals; always ready to mess with anyone being an idiot.

 

His Division.

The Fifth.

(And _fuck_ , but _Aizen_ had been the Fifth’s Captain ( _what did that two-faced bastard do to my men?_ )

Wait, hadn’t _Renji_ said he was once part of the Fifth? Ichigo was _so_ going to tease him for that. _After_ he makes sure the bastard hadn’t done anything untoward to the redhead.

He’d check over those two others as well, what were their names again? Kira Izuru and Hina-something Momo? That sounded right.)

 

His Captain. _Shinji_ , his _best friend_.

He had been _Shinji’s Lieutenant_. His partner, his sworn brother… No wonder the blond had felt so familiar!

 

 

His final moments.

Aizen, that _Kami-damned fucker_ , had killed him for his position.

From behind, like the cowardly little insect he was.

(Fucking _Aizen_ )

And then he had proceeded to Hollowfy the Visored ( _Shinji! Hiyori!_ ), manipulates his way to captaincy and… and…

 

There was no possible way that Kaien’s death had been a simple coincidence.

For one thing, his twin was too goddam smart and instinctive to believe in Aizen’s lies.

For another, Kaien had been his _twin_. Memory alterations or not (and Ichigo wasn’t stupid, that had to be the only reason why no one remembered Shiba Ichigo) the loss of a twin wasn’t something so easily glossed over. Kaien must have felt something, and gone to investigate.

And got killed for it.

 

(Didn’t Toshiro said the Momo girl, the new _Lieutenant_ , had been brainwashed and played with by the bastard????)

 

That’s _it_.

Aizen was going to die as horrifically as possible.

Dead. Deader than dead.

Mugetsu was going to rip his damn fucking soul asunder.

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

It’s not Kurosaki Ichigo who sets foot on the battlefield to fight against Aizen and who gambles his power in exchange for a victory.

It’s Shiba Ichigo, Fifth Division Lieutenant.

 

(The long black hair is something he‘d never realised he’d missed.

Don’t get him wrong; his orange hair was a reminder of his mom but black hair…

Black had been Kaien’s hair colour, too.

And Ichigo had begun to grow his hair because he entered that stupid challenge against Shinji to see who would have the longest hair in in the shortest amount of time.

Ichigo won. By a tiny millimetre.

He didn’t miss the long hair because he was vain.

He’d missed the bonds it represented.)

 

(He’s so going to let his hair grow again. Maybe even start a new competition with Shinji…)

 

By being reincarnated, by remembering, by transcending his death and all the obstacles put in front of him, Ichigo achieves Mugetsu and completes it.

He won’t lose anything; neither the battle, nor his life, nor his power.

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

The Shiba Clan members are known for their mastery over Kido. Ichigo may have had bad grades on Kido, but those were bad _compared to the other Shiba_.

In battle? Against an opponent too sure of himself?

He kicks his ass without breaking a sweat.

 

It’s not hard for him to detect Kisuke’s seal (oooh… sneaky! I _like_!) and not even a hassle to tweak it.

Aizen won’t be able to escape, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be sealed for however how many years Central 46 and the Gotei 13 think necessary.

No.

Ichigo deems his crimes too awful to give him that respite and too much time to plan his revenge.

 

(He hurt Shinji and his Division. He planned Kaien’s murder. He brainwashed dozens, if not hundreds, of Shinigami.

 _He. Will. Pay._ )

 

The Hogyoku gets sealed first. It’s a bit tricky because the thing seems to be aware of what going on and is furious to be losing, but Ichigo manages just well. By sealing it, that’ll give the appearance of Aizen being the one sealed.

In reality his body, a shell that will soon be devoid of any soul, will hold the Hogyoku and will be the only things sealed.

For Aizen himself, though, Ichigo has other plans.

 

The bastard hadn’t even realised he’d been cut off from his energy source. He is still _monologuing_ , of all stupid things to do on a battlefield!

 

(Who taught him how to fight?

What kind of mental retard allowed him to become a Shinigami, for that matter?)

 

Ichigo doesn’t feel any bit guilty when he interrupts him by a well-placed punch to the face. The blow knocks him off his feet and he lands on the ground with a resounding boom.

He lazily flash-steps towards the newly formed crater; seemingly unconcerned by the angry swearing and posturing emanating from it.

 

“Are you finished? Because I have things to do, your mess to clean and places to be.”

He deliberately lets his voice appears bored and lazy, his words slurring a little.

It has the effect he wants.

 

Aizen throws himself at Ichigo, close and personal.

Exactly where the Shiba-Kurosaki wants him to be.

His smile is full of teeth and Aizen almost falters.

 

(He was taught how to smile by a master after all.)

 

The world explodes.

 

(A murderer falls, taken down by his victim.)

 

A soul disintegrates.

And with it, the Zanpakuto it was linked to.

All the illusions born of Kyoka Suigetsu’s ability shatter with it.

The memories alterations Aizen performed to erase Shiba Ichigo’s existence are only one of many manipulations he did.

But in the aftermath of the bastard’s defeat, it’s the one that has the most impact.

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

Shinji regains consciousness feeling like death warmed over and like something crawled in his mouth and died in it one week ago. He automatically attributes it to the sedatives the Fourth’s Healers like to give to their patients.

He opens his eyes to the inside of a hastily put together tent. Hiyori is not far from him, still asleep, but her reiatsu tells him she’s resting and not in any danger.

That’s when he feels Aizen’s presence disappears.

Shortly after, the memories come back.

 _Ichigo_.

 

(There better be some parts left of the bastard because Shinji was going to kill him dead with prejudice.

The fucker didn’t just contend himself with Hollowfying Shinji and his friends, _no_! He had to kill Shinji’s _Lieutenant_ , his _best friend_ , and alters his memories!

He was going to rip him to fucking shreds, set him on fire, spit on the ashes and scatters them in Hell!

But, first, _Ichigo_.)

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

All around the Fake Karakura Town and in Soul Society people falter and stop.

They remember.

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

In the Fifth Division, the world stops turning.

The Division is the most touched by Aizen’s betrayal.

Its men and women are the ones other Shinigami look at with wariness and hostility in their eyes.

They are the ones who looked at Aizen with admiration.

They are the ones who were hurt, stepped upon and trampled over by the captain they trusted.

When Aizen’s illusions shatter and disappear, the whole division takes one full breath and all hell breaks loose.

 

They remember. And the feeling of betrayal (of hate) grows a hundredfold.

 

The Shinigami who were there when Shiba Ichigo became their Lieutenant, who were there during his lieutenancy and the day his body was brought back, fall to their knees, feeling sick.

 

(The Thirteenth’s adoration for Shiba Kaien pales in comparison to the one the Fifth had, and still has, for Shiba Ichigo.)

 

The ones who served under Hirako Shinji remember waking up one day without their captain and hearing rumours of treason. They remember protesting against the kill-on-sight order and the exile of their leader and then, falling silent, one by one, hypnotised by the real traitor.

 

Those who knew both Hirako Shinji and Shiba Ichigo can’t help but look back on Aizen’s acting: the way he held himself, both as Lieutenant and then as Captain, how he talked, encouraged and smiled…

The perfect mix between the true leaders of the Fifth Division. A mask of familiarity; worn to stop them from subconsciously fighting the illusions hiding their memories.

 

(They hatehatehatehate.

And they mourn.

Captain Hirako is still alive, still _here_ , and they’ll fight to the death to have him back.

But their Lieutenants are gone. Both of them. One to death and one to the traitor’s manipulations.)

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

(In the Fourth Division, Fifth Division Lieutenant Hinamori Momo breathes fully for the first time since Aizen’s betrayal. She falls asleep, at peace with herself at long last.

The brainwashing isn’t fully gone; there are still traces of it on her psyche. Yet, they are shattering, disintegrating.

It’ll take time before she’ll be able to live without Aizen’s shadow looming over her.

But she will stand proud.

She will heal.)

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

In Soul Society, the older generation of Shinigami stops in their tracks as the extent of Aizen’s lies unfold.

They have been played for fools.

 

Central 46 will try to sweep everything under the rug, like they always do. They won’t succeed.

 

The Shinigami, the Gotei 13, have already been played by someone hungry for power; someone who wasn’t afraid to lie and backstab his way to a position of power. They won’t let themselves be manipulated that way ever again.

 

Central 46 don’t know it yet but things are changing. They are obsolete and too greedy; they won’t be in power that much longer.

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

(In the Shiba Compound there is a room.

It had stood empty for decades, covered in dust, forgotten, hidden by illusions.

The futon is carefully rolled in one side of the room. But there are several shihakusho thrown around, in different state of disrepair.

On the desk, there is a half-written report next to a wrapped in blue-green paper book. The gift was meant for Kaien; their birthday was coming up.

There are portraits on the walls. Of family, of siblings and of friends. They, too, are covered in grime.)

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

A sake cup shatters on a wall.

Kukaku is livid, tears fall freely down her cheeks. She wants to cry, to shout, to howl. But her voice stays inside her own head, unheard.

Ganju stares lifelessly at a wall, unseeing.

The nightmare is back. It feels like learning of their siblings’ deaths all over again.

 

(Kaien had been strange during his last decades of life. Less smiling, less alive, always looking around him as if searching for someone.

Miyako helped; she brought back a spark of life in his eyes. But he was changed and no one knew why. No one remembered.)

 

(An out-of-breath Kuchiki Rulia will be the one to bring them the news. She’ll arrive running from the Living World only to open a new Senkaimon and bring them with her back to Karakura.

Once, she brought home one dying Shiba twin.

She’ll be the one to reunite the other twin, alive and reborn, with his siblings.)

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

Urahara Kisuke is the one closest to Ichigo when the illusions shatter.

Everything becomes clearer.

 

(Kisuke and Benihime are creatures of instinct. They knew, without any proof, that Aizen was bad news. That he took something from them. Something they’ll never be able to take back.

Had this feeling not been present since the beginning (since Shiba Ichigo’s death) Kisuke would have assumed that it was because the traitor took their freedom from them and had them exiled.

Now they know.

And they wish they’d realised why they hated him so much _before_ the bastard died. So that they could have participated in his demise beyond a simple spell.)

 

Kurosaki Ichigo, his student and Shiba Ichigo’s cousin –

 

(And they share a name! It’s going to be weird and strange and confusing! And Kisuke never had time to properly grieve and if it’s going to be hard for him it’s going to be _hell_ for Shinji!)

 

– Ichigo steps back from Aizen’s sealed, empty-of-a-soul, form and turns…

All the breath left in his lungs is stolen from him. Kisuke could recognise that face, that hair and that Zanpakuto anywhere.

 

“Hey, Kisuke.”

 

Kisuke never glomped anyone in his life. Ever. And he was proud of this fact.

He wasn’t particularly sad of breaking his record.

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

Yoruichi, on the other hand, makes a habit of glomping her favourite people each time the occasion presents itself.

This is no exception; it only takes her a few seconds to recognize the reiatsu around her and to locate it. She doesn’t even hesitate.

It’s not every day the dead comes back to life after all.

 

She beats Shinji to the cuddle pile by a few seconds both by dint of being the Flash Goddess and because she didn’t have to cross a whole town.

By the time the blond Visored joins them, she’s already in cat form and purring to her heart’s content.

 

(She’s also shedding black fur _everywhere_ , putting her scent and reiatsu all over her favourite people so that she’ll be able to always find them.

She’s only disappointed Soifon isn’t present as well.)

 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

 

By the time Shinji arrives – and he’s pretty sure he never ran that fast in his life – his Lieutenant is already covered by a blond scientist and a purring cat.

 

He’s momentarily thrown off by the long black hair that’s slowly reverting back to short orange hair. And the scowling. And the young face.

Then he chalks it off to Ichigo being Ichigo. Really, he barged into Seireitei with a sword, a group of kids – one of them a _Quincy_ – and a talking cat. Reincarnation is _nothing_ compared to that.

 

He gleefully jumps in on the cuddle pile, completely ignoring the indignant squawking coming from his reincarnated best friend.

Being reunited with departed friend demands cuddle. It has to be a rule of life. If it isn’t the blond is willing to go write it himself among the other Laws of the Universe.

Explanations, and apologies, and tears and other “If you do something like that again I’ll kill you myself” can come later.

After the cuddles.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
